West Wake News

The North Carolina Courage are set to face the Kansas City Current in the NWSL playoff quarterfinals on Saturday, November 9, at 12 p.m. ET. The match will be available for viewing on CBS and streamed on Paramount+. Fans can join a watch party hosted by the Courage at the Downtown Raleigh Carolina Ale House, with doors opening at 11 a.m. ET.

This matchup marks the first NWSL playoff meeting between these two teams, although they have faced each other in knockout games before. Since 2022, this will be their fourth knockout encounter, tying them for the most such meetings between any two NWSL teams during that period. The Courage previously defeated the Current twice in Challenge Cup semifinals, while Kansas City won their last encounter in this year's NWSLxLiga MX Femenil Summer Cup semifinals.

During the 2024 regular season, both teams secured home victories against each other. Notably, Cortnee Vine's equalizer and Brianna Pinto's stoppage-time winner gave the Courage a crucial win in September.

Kansas City Current Head Coach Vlatko Andonovski has a record of 3-8-1 against the Courage across all competitions. Meanwhile, Courage Head Coach Sean Nahas holds a 4-5-0 record against Kansas City. The last playoff meeting between an Andonovski-coached team and the Courage was in 2019 when Seattle was defeated by North Carolina.

The Current's offense is led by Golden Boot winner Temwa Chawinga and broke an NWSL scoring record with 57 goals this season. Debinha contributed significantly with three goals and six assists. However, they will face one of the league's toughest defenses; the Courage allowed only 28 goals this season and hold impressive playoff defensive records.

Goalkeeper Casey Murphy could play a pivotal role as she ranks second in NWSL playoff saves with 28 from just three games. Her performance history includes notable saves against top teams like Washington and Seattle.

In terms of playoff history, North Carolina has a record of 5-3-0, with losses only to eventual champions. They claimed titles in both 2018 and 2019 when making it to playoffs.

Courage captain Denise O’Sullivan leads her team in playoff appearances and minutes played. She scored their first-ever playoff goal back in 2017 against Chicago.

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